The Coast to Coast Passport was born in 2024, arriving at exactly the right moment - right in the middle of £5.5 million worth of upgrade works transforming the Coast to Coast path into an official National Trail, a status it finally achieved in March 2026. The very first Passports were ready in time for the 2025 walking season.

The route itself needs little introduction. Devised by the world-famous walker, author and illustrator Alfred Wainwright and first published in 1973, it has grown into one of the most popular long-distance treks in the country. The Passport concept, though, has older and further-flung roots - it originated on the Camino de Santiago, the pilgrim route walked by more than 500,000 people every year. Our own Coast to Coast attracts a more modest 6,000 to 8,000 walkers annually, but the concept has clearly struck a chord: the 2026 edition has seen the uptake grow by 60% on 2025.

Along the way, walkers collect uniquely designed passport stamps at 30 different locations, issued by 86 different Passport Stamping Agents. Complete the walk, and the Passport Office in Richmond sends out a Personalised Completion Certificate to mark the achievement.

It's fair to say walkers love it. Rishi Sunak officially launched the Passport back in 2025 - you can read more about that on the news pages of richmondyorkshire.co.uk - and in June that year, the Passport also featured in a BBC news piece broadcast on BBC Breakfast, with footage still available on the C2C Passport Facebook page. Testimonials have poured in from walkers too, none more telling than this one from Paul Scott: “The passport got me into places I would never have visited and into conversations I would never have had, had I not had the passport. I felt the magic of it working all the time.”

The creation of the Passport wouldn’t have been possible without generous support from every local authority along the route - North Yorkshire Council, Cumberland Council, Westmorland and Furness Council, the North York Moors National Park, the Yorkshire Dales National Park and the Lake District National Park - together with a range of local and national commercial sponsors. Surplus funds from Passport sales have gone back to support organisations that champion a life lived out of doors, including the Wainwright Society and the Outdoor Guide Foundation. From this year onwards, some of that spare income will also go directly towards trail maintenance - a lovely thought for walkers to carry with them: their Passport isn't just fun for them, it's helping keep the Trail itself in good order. A virtuous circle, and a fitting tribute to the power of a dedicated band of volunteers and paid, parttime assistants.

The Passport's Preface was written by Julia Bradbury, whose own book and television series on the Coast to Coast are known the world over. Work on the 2027 edition is already underway, with several new features in the pipeline.